Holly shrugged. She suspected that if Erick was as stubborn as her own brother, they could be waiting for awhile.
“What’s taking so long?” Zack wondered aloud, breaking from his pacing.
Holly crossed the distance to him and took his hand. She could understand his impatience. What if they began pulling up the bodies and a boat showed up? How were they going to explain the discovery of bodies to a boatload of people if they should suddenly appear, intent on doing some rock hunting along the shelf?
Holly was as eager as Zack to contact the authorities, but wondered, whom should they call? Kendall had told her about Deputy Donner taking a heavy-looking chain from John, the Search and Rescue guy. And apparently the two men were currently patrolling the reservoir together. If they made a call for help, it was likely these two men would be the first responders. “This is awful,” Holly said aloud, the frustration evident in her voice.
“I know,” Zack said, and pulled her into an embrace. They stood together for a long moment, Holly’s cheek pressed against his rock hard chest. She pulled back slightly and attempted a smile. “When this is over, I hope I still love the water as much as I used to.”
“You and me both,” he said, smiling into her eyes.
Their tender moment was interrupted by Cassie, breaking the water’s surface. She hurriedly began signing. “Erick agrees you can remove his body. Lucy too, of course.” She paused for several seconds. “Lucy wants her mother to know where she is. She desperately misses her mom.”
Holly bit back a sob, forcing herself to hold steady. Zack gave her a quick, shoring squeeze, and then strode to the water’s edge. “Cassie,” he said, “if I need help, will you be able to give me a hand? I know how strong you are.”
She nodded and began signing. “Both bodies are wrapped in chains, and anchored, too. Since it’s fairly shallow, the killer wasn’t taking any chances that the bodies might rise to the surface and be found.”
Zack turned to Holly for a translation, and then considered the information. “Cassie, if you could get the bodies close to the surface, Holly and I can pull them onto the rock shelf.”
Holly gave him a quick, startled look, but didn’t object. Of course, she had to help him. In spite of the fact that the prospect of touching a dead body sent shivers up her arms, and made her quake with fear, she would do what needed to be done. She glanced heavenward, hoping for strength.
“Are we good, Holly?” Zack asked, noticing the sickly expression on her face.
“I’m … good,” she assured him. “You?”
He nodded in response.
Cassie nodded as well, and then dove into the water. Soon, she appeared with a tiny body, which was clearly Lucy’s. The little girl ghost hovered nearby, watching her body from a distance of several feet away. Erick had a hold of it, as did Cassie. They brought it close to the rock shelf.
Zack bent down, grabbed a hold of a chain, and began pulling. “Holly!”
She hurried forward and grabbed hold of a chain near the feet and began tugging with all her might. The killer had done his best to assure the body would never be found, since he’d weighted it down with several rolls of chains. A heavy anchor dangled from the mid-section, making it cumbersome and difficult to hold onto. Zack realized that if the body hadn’t been so well wrapped in some sort of tarp, the skeleton would likely have broken into a million pieces.
“It’s too … heavy!” he groaned, and then fell back, simultaneously releasing his hold with a startled cry.
Holly couldn’t sustain the weight alone and tumbled face first into the water, along with the chain-wrapped body. Thankfully, Cassie grabbed a hold of her, preventing her from injuring herself. Cassie pulled her to the surface, where Zack had risen and was about to jump into the water. He grabbed a hold of Holly’s arms and pulled her out of the water and then against him in a hard hug. “I’m so sorry,” he cried. “Holly, I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay,” she told him, coughing. “Zack, it’s okay. I’m fine.”
The couple was so intent on the job at hand, they missed the sound of the boat motoring slowly toward them. “What are you kids up to?” a man’s voice called out to them.
They turned at once, to the source of the voice. It was Deputy Donner, along with the man they figured had to be John, the Search and Rescue guy Kendall had told Holly about.
“We need to get out of here,” Zack said beneath his breath. “If they’re involved…”
“But what about Cassie? What about the kids?”
“We’ll come back,” he said, moving toward the dinghy that was tied to a log. “Let’s go.”
“Hey, hold up there!” the deputy called out.
“Let’s just get into the boat,” Zack said softly, and then loudly to the deputy called out, “We were just leaving!”
“Hold up there,” the deputy repeated.
“We have to go,” Holly called this time, trying to keep her voice neutral and normal. “Our friends are waiting for us… Um, have a nice day.”
The couple jumped into the boat and Zack quickly started the motor. They attempted to back away from the washout, but suddenly, they were stopped by the marine patrol boat blocking their escape.
Zack made eye contact with Deputy Donner, who was driving. “Did you need something?”
“Yeah, I need you to park that boat again, and then I need you kids to get out and tell us what you just dumped into this reservoir. And I need you to comply right now.”
Chapter Twenty-four
The deputy had told Aaron to start from the beginning. How could he do that? he wondered. The beginning involved a ghost, and he knew he couldn’t very well attribute his indirect knowledge of the items to a spirit. He glanced around the table at his friends.
“Hey, son, look over here,” Deputy Hudson said. “You need to start talking and you need to start right now. You have items in your possession belonging to a missing girl.” His eyes passed over the other items. “And I can’t help wondering about the other items as well.”
The older cop picked up several of the items, studying each one with intensity, and then passing them to the younger cop. Handbury seemed to hesitate to receive each item.
Aaron took a deep breath and swallowed. “Look,” he began, “David Gray, her stepdad, had apparently warned Holly about going near a shed he has out back, because it’s about ready to fall down…”
“I know the shed,” Hudson said. “David mentioned to me he intends to demolish the thing, for fear it’s going to fall on someone’s head. I’m surprised he hasn’t done it already.”
Aaron glanced at his friends with alarm. The fact that Hudson had knowledge of that shed worried him. “Yeah, well, my friends heard a loud noise coming from the shed earlier. Someone had broken into it, so…”
“Who?”
Aaron sighed heavily. He refused to tell the deputy that Thomas had broken into the shed. It could have serious repercussions for the boy. The last thing Thomas needed was a breaking and entering conviction on his record at the age of twelve. “I don’t know who broke in,” he said finally.
The deputy gave a dismissive way. “Okay, go on,” he prompted.
“Okay, well, we went inside to check it out. We looked around, you know, and found…”
“What’d you find exactly?” the younger cop, Handbury, asked.
Aaron glanced at Niqui, remembering the strategically mutilated posters. He pulled his eyes away from her and back to the cop. “Look, we found posters of girls on cars…”
Hudson shrugged. “Okay…?”
Aaron raked a hand through his hair and emitted a haggard sigh.
“Go on,” the younger cop prompted this time, his brows furrowed into a frown.
“The posters… I mean, the women in the posters had been, well…”
“What?” Hudson asked.
“Someone had cut the girls, you know, in particular places.” He made a face, to make his point.
Hudson glanced at H
andbury, who shook his head. “You’re saying someone cut the girls’ … private parts?”
Aaron nodded. “Yeah, and it creeped us out, so…”
“So, you, what?” Hudson encouraged.
“Well, we started looking around. We found a loose board and we pulled it up. The knife was under the board. It, uh—the knife—has red on it.”
Hudson carefully reached for the knife. “Red, like blood?” he inquired, his eyes going to Aaron’s face like guided missiles. When he nodded, Hudson studied the knife. “Red like blood,” he acknowledged in measured tones.
“Yeah, and then we looked around some more and found a box with…” His eyes passed over the items on the table. “…With all these things in it. We recognized the name Kiki Lee, and sort of put two and two together.”
“Take us to the shed and show us everything,” Hudson said suddenly, and with authority.
Aaron shook his head adamantly. “No.”
Hudson looked taken aback. “What? You’re not willing to show us that shed?”
Aaron glanced at the faces of his friends, registering the fear in their eyes. He turned back to the deputies. “You know where it’s at.”
Hudson gave a humorless laugh. “You’re serious? You won’t show us where you found these things?—because, the fact is, we can compel you to show us…”
“Compel away,” Aaron said stubbornly. “We’ll scatter in four different directions.”
Hudson stood silently, staring at Aaron through narrowed eyes. “You’re terrified, aren’t you, son?” When he didn’t respond, he said, “You don’t have to be scared. We’ll be right beside you.”
“That’s what we’re afraid of,” Daniel muttered, and Hudson glanced at him with alarm.
“You’re not telling us something,” Hudson said with certainty in his voice, catching his partner’s gaze. “Listen, you need to show us where you found these items, and you need to show us now.”
“Okay, I’ll take you,” Aaron told them. “I’ll take you and about twenty of your friends.”
The cop looked at him, his face contorted in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Aaron knew he couldn’t very well tell them about the dead girls in the lake, nor could he mention that they viewed the two of them as possible suspects in their murders. And as such, they weren’t going anywhere with them. The fact that these two men seemed to know their way around the cabin, and were aware of the shed’s existence, was disconcerting, as well.
“Kid!” Hudson said. “I’m asking you again to take me to that shed and to show me everything!”
“Take yourself,” he said, losing patience. This whole ordeal was beginning to grate. He suddenly wished he and Niqui had left soon after he’d arrived on this darned reservoir. It felt as if he’d lived a lifetime since getting here.
“We can save time if you’ll just show us,” the younger cop said in a coaxing voice.
“Uh, uh, no way,” Aaron said adamantly. “If this place isn’t crawling with cops soon, my butt doesn’t leave this chair.”
“What is it you’re not telling us, son?” Hudson asked.
Aaron refused to speak, dropping into a chair, and folding his arms across his chest. He suddenly looked about to cry, and the deputy recognized the boy was at his breaking point.
“All right, son. Have it your way. I’ll make the call,” Hudson told him. “I’ll make the call.”
***
An hour later, the property was teaming with deputies. The parking area below David’s cabin was crowded with patrol cars, as well as a van marked CSI. Although there weren’t twenty deputies on site, there were enough that Aaron felt comfortable enough that they all couldn’t be killers.
“Gray’s given us permission to search?” a stern-faced man, who identified himself as a commander, asked Hudson. They were in the kitchen with the kids, who were still sitting around the table.
He nodded. “The wife gave us permission. It turns out Gray’s on his way here. She said she was about to head this way too. They bought a new boat and intend to surprise the daughter with it.”
The commander gestured to Aaron. “Show me,” he said simply.
Aaron rose, and wasn’t surprised when his best friends fell into step beside them. When they reached the entrance to the shed, the older man gave the exterior a cursory glance and shook his head. “Only you go in,” he told Aaron, giving a dismissive wave toward his friends. The others reluctantly fell back, while Aaron went inside. The commander followed him in.
Hudson and Handbury stepped inside just as Aaron showed the commander the posters. The three men exchanged somber glances. Next Aaron climbed over the piles of castoff items, to the back of the shed. He showed the men the chains and anchors first.
The commander lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “Why are you showing me these things?” he asked.
Aaron opened his mouth to speak, but promptly clamped it shut. Once Holly and Zack finished what they had set out to do—locate the bodies—the commander would likely have his answer about those chains and anchors. For now, he crouched down and showed the officers where he’d found the knife. Next, he showed them where they had found the box, stashed in the wall. With that, he rose up and hurried outside.
He couldn’t take another second inside the musty building. Like Niqui had said before, it smelled like death.
Outside, Deputies Hudson and Handbury directed the kids back to the cabin, where they sat down at the dinette to wait. Several officers milled around in the living room and bedrooms, apparently searching for additional evidence.
“What happens next?” Kendall asked.
Aaron shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not like we can start chatting about a ghost, you know.”
Daniel leaned forward and whispered. “I wish we could reach Holly. Should we try to call Kendall’s cell phone?”
Aaron nodded. “Give it a try.”
Kendall rose from the dinette and nonchalantly moved to the phone on the wall. She dialed her own cell, only to have it go to voice mail. “No luck,” she whispered.
Hudson suddenly appeared in the kitchen. “Who did you just call?” he asked.
She glanced at Aaron, who shrugged resignedly.
“I tried to reach Holly,” she told him honestly.
“Where did you say she was?”
“She’s out on the lake with our friend, Zack,” Kendall said.
“What’s she doing out there without you guys?” Handbury asked. “Are they swimming? Boating? Out for some fun in the sun?”
Aaron rose from the chair and stared intently at Hudson, and then Handbury. “No, they’re not out there having fun. Who in their right minds could have fun when they’re searching for…?” He shook his head, realizing he’d almost said too much.
“Yes?” Hudson said.
In frustration, Aaron threw his hands in the air in a gesture of resignation. “They’re searching for bodies. Okay? They’re looking for dead kids.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Holly and Zack were trapped. The Marine Patrol boat blocked any possibility of escape. Zack considered attempting to motor the dinghy forward and then take a sharp turn away from the larger boat, but he knew there was no way he could outrun the Marine Patrol boat. Instead, he steered toward shore, shut down the motor, and helped Holly climb out.
Deputy Donner pulled the big boat alongside the tiny boat, apparently unconcerned about the rocky shelf scratching the aluminum hull. The deputy turned the wheel over to the other man and jumped out of the boat.
Zack, who had a hold of Holly’s hand, spun, and began running. Instinctively, Holly ran with him, as they struggled to stay upright on the slippery rocks. When they reached the actual shoreline, Zack paused briefly to take in their surroundings.
The way up and away from the bank of the reservoir was a steep incline, with felled trees dangling tops-first down the hill. Other fallen trees lay across them, creating a precarious tic-tac-toe terrain that Zack wasn’
t certain they could safely traverse.
When he spotted the deputy begin to give chase, the decision was made. He started up the hill, dragging Holly behind him.
“Donner!” the man on the boat yelled. “Get back here. Something big’s happening north of Yale Park! We have to go!”
The teens paused and glanced back. They watched Donner stop, look back indecisively at his friend, and then glance back at them. They could see the frustration and anger on his face. “Come back here,” he called to them. “Now! You’re going to kill yourselves up there.”
“Should we do as he says, Zack?” Holly asked. “What if he gets angry and shoots us?”
Zack scrubbed a hand across his jaw. “Holly, I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t know who we can trust. I keep thinking about Kendall telling you about those guys passing a chain between them. What if…?”
“You’re right. Climb, Zack!” she cried. “Hopefully, he’ll give up on us and go away.”
They began climbing upward, struggling to scale the big, fallen trees, and find solid ground beneath their feet when they did. It was rough going and they only paused when the frustrated deputy called out to them again. “Get back here. Please! Those trees aren’t stable. It’s dangerous up there!”
When they didn’t comply, he finally turned back and trudged across the rocky shelf to the boat. He climbed in, said something to his friend, and then took the wheel. Holly and Zack watched him carefully back the boat out, turn, and start across the lake.
“I’m sure he figures we’ll be easy enough to catch later,” Zack muttered. “I wonder where they went?”
Holly’s eyes widened. “Do you think…?
“What, Holly?”
“Are they headed for the cabin? I wonder if they’re following up on the phone call Thomas’ parents received from my phone.”
Zack expelled a long sigh. “If they are, we don’t have much time.” He shook his head. “Actually, I just don’t know. I don’t think a phone call would cause them to speed off like that. Regardless, let’s go find Cassie. We have a job to do.”
Together they managed to get down the hillside in one piece, and they crossed the shelf to the drop off to deeper water. Cassie sprung up suddenly, startling Holly. “We have to hurry,” Cassie signed. “I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”
The Reservoir Page 18